Four prolonged dharnas seek candidates’ attention in Hisar

Deepender Deswal

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Hisar, May 20

Demands being raised by protesters sitting on a prolonged dharna at different places in the Hisar Lok Sabha segment have failed to draw the attention of candidates of prominent parties.

Four dharnas are going on — three of them over 400 days old — in Hisar. Residents have been sitting on a dharna outside the now-closed Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) for the past 498 days, and the farmers’ dharna at the Mini-Secretariat, demanding the release of insurance claims under the PMFBY for about 150 days.

Inder Singh Malik, pradhan of the Doordarshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, said their dharna had entered the 498th day on Friday. He had been sending photographs of the dharna to MPs of all parties in Haryana, besides other leaders. “None of the candidates have arrived to extend support to us and raise our issues. The closure of the DDK, which was the only Doordarshan Kendra of Haryana, is relevant to the entire state,” he said.

The kendra, which started in 2001, was closed by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on January 15, 2023.

Randhir Pannu, another resident at the dharna, said the issue was related to the Centre. “We want all candidates to include the issue in their agenda as it concerns people of the state,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha has been staging a dharna at the Mini-Secretariat, seeking the release of claims for cotton failure in 2022 and 2023. “About 8,000 insurance policies for 2022 and 1.4 lakh for 2023 kharif are pending,” said Anil Gorchi, a farm leader.

Another dharna under the banner of the Road Bachao Sangharsh Samiti has been going on at Talwandi Rana village for the past 465 days. The locals started a dharna after the road from Tanwandi Rana to Hisar was closed due to expansion of the airport, which increased the distance between the village and Hisar by 13 km.

OP Kohli, an activist, claimed that Congress candidate Jai Prakash assured them to look into the demand after the elections while BJP candidate Ranjit Singh failed to give any satisfactory reply.

At Uchana Kalan (Jind), farmers have been sitting on a dharna for around 520 days, demanding the construction of a minor to fetch water from Narwana branch to 30 villages.